Storage behaviour of neem (Azadirachta indica) seeds from Burkina Faso
1996
Gamene, C.S. (Centre National de Semences Forestieres, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)) | Kraak, H.L. | Pijlen, J.G. van | Vos, C.H.R. de
The storage behaviour of a neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) seed lot from Burkina Faso, West-Africa, was studied by varying both seed moisture content and temperature during storage. The initial germination capacity, expressed as percentage normal seedlings, was 87 %. To determine the effect of moisture content, seeds with intact endocarp were stored in drums with air of a constant temperature (20 deg C) and different relative humidities. During nine weeks of storage the germination capacity remained highest (70 % or more) at relative humidities of both 55 % (moisture content about 9 % on a fresh weight basis) and 75 % (moisture content about 13 %) and was markedly lower at either lower (32 and 20 to 25 %) or higher (95 %) relative humidities. The effect of storage temperature was examined in two experiments. In the first one seeds with 8.9 % moisture were stored at 3, 20, 30, and 50 deg C for two weeks. The germination capacity of these seeds was lowered at the highest temperature only. In the second experiment seeds with 4.5, 9.2, and 12.9 % moisture wre stored at both 3 and 30 deg C for up to five weeks. Irrespective of seed moisture content, germination capacity was lost most rapidly at the lowest temperature. The results for this neem seed lot are consistent with the intermediate category of seed storage behaviour
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